Today’s Variety reports that Terry Gilliam and Heath Ledger are making a new movie together. As longtime Terry Gilliam fans, we would once have been thrilled about this news. But it seems apparent from the Variety piece that Gilliam has completely given up, and at this point is writing movies that are just mishmashes of previous Terry Gilliam movies.

Marquee star signed up for future career lowlight? Check! Quirky, out-of-left-field supporting cast? Check, with Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, and Verne Troyer all signed on. Awkward, clunky title? Check: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. A plot that features quasi-supernatural elements mixed with weird Penny Dreadful leanings? Check! “With his traveling theater troupe, Parnassus offers audience members the chance to transcend reality by passing through a magical mirror.”

Isn’t about time that Gilliam had a Tim Burton–style comeback? Couldn’t someone give him something better to direct? Throw the guy a bone; he made Brazil for heaven’s sake!